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Gigabyte GTX 560 OC Review

Conclusion:

The Gigabyte GTX 560 OC provided a solid gaming experience while being affordable. The whole time it was in use, the card was quiet. The 100mm fans were inaudible compared to the case fans even when run at full speed of ~2000 RPM. Overclocking results weren't ground breaking but the card did do well. Core speed was already overclocked 20 MHz from factory to 830 MHz and it was able to operate stable at 910 MHz. The memory was able to overclock from 1002 MHz to 1125 MHz stable as well. Temperatures were some of the best recorded with help from the WindForce heat sink! Power consumption numbers were some of the lowest out of the cards tested thanks to NVIDIA's design and Gigabyte's Ultra Durable VGA components. I couldn't discern any choke squeal so the Ultra Durable ferrite chokes definitely did their job well. With some voltage modification, this card should easily have a bit more headroom. The Gigabyte Easy Boost software is handy with overclocking and fan speed control and BIOS tools. Users can backup and flash their BIOS with the program with the push of a button!

The only con for this card would be the overclocking capability in comparison to the cooling. The card had plenty of overclocking room thermally but was held back by a lack of voltage. Overclocking is a gamble and this note shouldn't be held against the card considering it did decently. The card itself wasn't at fault as it was designed for quiet stability and not designed for hardcore overclocking. The overclock results were approximately 11% gain on the core and 12% on the memory.

The card performed very well but until stocks of the GTX 460 run out, it will be interesting to see how it sells being that the GTX 460 is considerably cheaper. Performance was great and everything worked perfectly so if the price is right this card makes a great choice!